EB-2 is for professionals with an advanced degree (or a bachelor’s degree and five years of progressive experience) and people of exceptional ability. EB-3 is for professionals with a bachelor’s degree, skilled workers and other workers. EB-2 sounds like the faster line because it is the higher preference, but for applicants born in India or China the two queues have often moved in the opposite order.
The dates now
| Category | Bulletin | Final action date | Date for filing | Backlog | Times moved back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-2 India | October 2026 | Nov 1, 2013 | Jan 15, 2015 | 12.9 yr | 19 |
| EB-3 India | October 2026 | Jan 1, 2014 | Jan 15, 2015 | 12.7 yr | 11 |
| EB-2 China | October 2026 | Oct 1, 2021 | Jan 1, 2023 | 5.0 yr | 9 |
| EB-3 China | October 2026 | Jan 8, 2022 | Apr 1, 2024 | 4.7 yr | 12 |
To compare your date in the calculator, pick the category and country, then enter your priority date.
Each category has its own annual allocation and its own per-country share, so the cutoff for each depends on how many people with that country of birth are waiting in that category. For India especially, both lines are long, and which one is ahead changes over time.
How often EB-3 has been ahead
India
In 289 bulletins since December 2001 that list both categories for India, the EB-3 final action date was more favorable than the EB-2 date in 73, most recently in October 2026. "More favorable" here means a later cutoff date, EB-3 current while EB-2 was not, or EB-3 dated while EB-2 was unavailable.
China
In 259 bulletins since January 2005 that list both categories for China, the EB-3 final action date was more favorable than the EB-2 date in 98, most recently in October 2026. "More favorable" here means a later cutoff date, EB-3 current while EB-2 was not, or EB-3 dated while EB-2 was unavailable.
Moving between the two categories
When the EB-3 date is ahead, some applicants with an approved EB-2 petition have their employer file a second Form I-140 in EB-3, sometimes called downgrading. The priority date from the approved EB-2 petition normally carries over to the new petition. Moving from EB-3 to EB-2, called upgrading, works the same way when the person and the job qualify for EB-2.
Whether a case can move depends on the labor certification, the job’s requirements and the person’s qualifications. Filing in the second category does not remove the first, and an applicant whose I-485 is already pending can ask USCIS to move it to the new petition. The details are a question for the employer’s immigration attorney.
Reading the history before deciding
A category being ahead this month says little about next year. EB-2 and EB-3 India have each led the other for long stretches, and both have retrogressed. The EB-2 India and EB-3 India pages, and the EB-2 China and EB-3 China pages, each have a wait history table showing how long people with each priority date waited in that category. Comparing the same priority date in both tables shows how the two lines have actually served the same people. Why visa bulletin dates retrogress explains why the dates can go backwards.